Fabiola turns 80!


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johann

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And this is worth starting the celebrations early!
Today the BRF gathered at Laeken Castle to celebrate Fabiola´s birthday (*11/06/1928). And this grand old lady was kind enough to share the limelight with Astrid (*05/06/1962) and Albert (*06/06/1934) - three cakes for three royals and many youngsters to blow out the candles!

The Belga coverage can be found here!
BelgaPicture - Category details

And here are some first impressions (anp, belga)
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5382/7622784kp3.jpg
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http://img388.imageshack.us/img388/9200/9464712qp2.jpg
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http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9882/9464765yc7.jpg
 
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I see that she's giving a speech of sorts - is there any reports of what she was saying?
 
How lovely!!! The pictures are very nice! How lovely to see the whole family gathered this way!
 
Happy Birthday to this Grand Lady!
 
Happy birthday to Fabiola!
 
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I love Fabiola, one half of my favorite Royal couple of all time. Long live the Queen!!

Has Mathilde colored her hair?? It looks beautiful, so shiny and healthy.
 
According to the news prince Laurent was to late
 
I haven't seen princess Elisabeth, was she in school maybe? Eleonore has grown a lot!
 
Great pictures! I am glad that the family paid tribute in public to Queen Fabiola, esp. considering she has been a sort-of second mother to esp. Filips and Astrid for such a long time (not to mention a very popular and excellent Queen).

I don't see Amedeo, Joachim and Elisabeth but it is nice to see the others, Louise is such a doll!
 
Ah Fabiola. Still gorgeous.
 
the baby has grown and Mathidle hasnt lost her baby weight after the birth

PPE Agency dress is too short

Queen Fabiola looks remarkable for her age and her hair !!
 
Prince Laurent seems to be absent too? A diplomatic chill perhaps ;). I noticed on the pictures of the royals at lunch that Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg was there too,as were Prince Nicolaus and Princess Margarethe of Liechtenstein. Were there any other Luxembourg or Spanish relatives around?

On the VRT clip you can see some footage of the birthday. The queen holds a speech in Dutch. Nice detail: for 30 years HM receives a chocolate cake for her birthday from the mother of a handicapped woman named Chantal. She ends with: 'Alors il faut applaudir maintenant' ;).

Edit: Laurent was late but he did show up for the lunch according to VRT.
 
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Marengo said:
Prince Laurent seems to be absent too? A diplomatic chill perhaps ;).

Edit: Laurent was late but he did show up for the lunch according to VRT.
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Laurent was missing in action because he was caught up in a traffic jam. Ahem, yes…. :rolleyes: This guy sure is haunted by ill luck, last national day his uniform was too small, now a little traffic jam and so on …I wonder if he still expects ppl to believe in it. But at least his better half Claire and his adorable kids managed to arrive in Laeken in time. Kudos to her. :flowers:

Gallery by getty:
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i'm taking a guess here but amadeo must be giving his final papers at LSE...it is his last year there.
 
johann said:
Laurent was missing in action because he was caught up in a traffic jam. Ahem, yes…. :rolleyes: This guy sure is haunted by ill luck, last national day his uniform was too small, now a little traffic jam and so on …I wonder if he still expects ppl to believe in it. But at least his better half Claire and his adorable kids managed to arrive in Laeken in time. Kudos to her. :flowers:

Gallery by getty:
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Well, I understand he has difficulties in being a hyporite here and I can imagine that he has difficulties in celebrating his aunt. Jan van den Berghe usually likes to tell the story that Fabiola once ordered an exorsist for Laurent (as do others). I don' t know if we should believe that but their relationship has always been difficult to say the least, IMO not all due to Laurent. It was rather painfull during the wedding of Mathilde and Filips: Fabiola and Laurent left the palace in one car, to the city hall. After the civil wedding Laurent was placed with the sisters of Mathilde while Fabiola went in a car with Josephine-Charlotte and Jean.

Did Laurent actually make it to the party? The VRT said he did but I do not see any pictures.

Het Niewsblad has an article, saying that Laurent, his wife and family were not there (they are obviously blind).

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According to the Standaard Queen Fabiola has had the same hairdo for 50 years (which might be a royal record) and a recent biography by Brigitte Balfoord says that Fabiola hesitated for a long time before accepting Boudewijn's marriage proposal.

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I agree, Maria Laura loos much better lately. Did anyone else notice how much Louise-Marie resembles a young Queen Paola btw?
 
Marengo said:
Well, I understand he has difficulties in being a hyporite here and I can imagine that he has difficulties in celebrating his aunt.
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Well, if he has difficulties celebrating with his aunt it would be wiser to stay at home, he made it to the party btw, right after the last photograph left Laeken. Talking about being caught in a traffic jam in this context would be hypocrisy at it´s best IMVHO. But most likely he is neither annoyed by his aunt (these two seem to get along lately), nor by the journalists, perhaps he really isn´t able to check the clock. :rolleyes: After all he is (in)famous for arriving late, he arrives too late for state visit galas, National Day concerts or his own activities. I´m all for cultivating a trademark, but it doesn´t have to unpunctuality as it does come across very impolite. Well, at least he got his honorary mention in all newspapers this way. :cool:
 
In one of Boudewijn's biographies it alleged that Laurent was always something of a wild child. When he was in his late teens, early twenties he was booted out of Belvedere by his parents the Prince and Princess of Liege. He came to stay with Boudewijn and Fabiola at Laeken. Things were fine until Laurent snuck a girlfriend into the palace for a night of passion(she was smuggled in the trunk of the car) and things soured very quickly between the Royal couple and their youngest nephew.

Laurent was rebellious and difficult to manage, unlike his elder siblings.He had very volatile relationships with numerous women(there are very ugly stories of physical abuse and even one girlfriend getting an abortion which I don't want to believe) Then came lovely Claire, the best thing that ever happened to him.

Sadly, Laurent never healed his relationship with Boudewijn before the King's unexpected and sudden death in the summer of 1993. There is a very revealing photo taken at the military airport the night HM's body was flown back to Brussels from Spain. The entire BRF are standing close together with their arms linked tightly forming a sort of human chain...Astrid, Paola, Albert, Josephine-Charlotte, Philippe and of course Fabiola. All are weeping and holding on to one another. And sort of off to the side alone stands Laurent. It's one of those pictures that tells the whole story.

Laurent doesn't seem to be close to anyone in his family quite honestly even thought thank God he has healed his relationship with his parents.
 
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Thanks for the pics!

It's very pleasant to see this very classy and so dear person celebrating her 80th Birthday. :)

It would be lovely if King Baudouin was alive at her side on this event. I see their same true love on Mathilde and Philippe.
 
Regina said:
Thanks for the pics!

It's very pleasant to see this very classy and so dear person celebrating her 80th Birthday. :)

It would be lovely if King Baudouin was alive at her side on this event. I see their same true love on Mathilde and Philippe.
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There are indeed parallels between the two relationships..Baudouin was withdrawn and unfulfilled as Philippe was, then they both blossomed under the love and devotion of wives who seem to have been sent to them from God.

Both married at an age that was considered "late" for a Crown Prince...Baudouin was thirty and Philippe in his middle thirties.

BTW...Fabiola always wears a gold medallion in the shape of a heart that has her late husband's image on it. She started wearing it after his death. I always wonder where she got it from.
 
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